Although the federal minimum wage is set at $7.25 per hour, millions of workers across the United States are compensated at a far lower rate due to subminimum wages. Despite federal and state minimum wage laws, many employers are exempt from providing all of their workers with livable wages. This is often true for tipped workers in the service and hospitality industries, as well as workers with mental and physical disabilities. Although they are legal in 43 states, subminimum wages facilitate the exploitation of low-income workers and allow employers to take advantage of the labor of vulnerable employees.
One of the many problematic aspects of the subminimum wage rate is its origin. In fact, subminimum wages in the United States are a clear and direct remnant of slavery. After enslaved people were emancipated in 1863, many employers found strategies to circumvent compensating newly freed slaves with fair wages. Although tipping was not a universal practice at the time, employers in the service industry hired Black people to work for only tips, rather than a set wage. In other words, the hospitality industry exploited the practice of tipping to avoid providing freed slaves with actual salaries. This incentivized employers to hire more Black employees, as they could avoid paying workers’ wages. By 1880, 43% of tipped workers in hotels and restaurants were Black.
Today, it is no longer legal for employers to hire workers without guaranteeing...
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